During Super Bowl week, thousands of football fans descended upon New Orleans for a non-stop lineup of celebrations, parades, events and, of course, fantastic food.
While it’s hard to have a bad meal in New Orleans — TripAdvisor named it the best food city in 2024 for good reason — the choices can be overwhelming. But rapper, former chef and food-travel TV host Action Bronson says there’s only one place to start the culinary journey in the city: Willie Mae’s Scotch House for their famous fried chicken.
“I first ate at Willie Mae’s when I came down here [to film] my show F**k, That’s Delicious and fell in love. It was one of the best pieces of flesh I’ve ever tasted in my life,” Bronson told PEOPLE while appearing at the Pepsi NOLA Eats Fest in New Orleans on Feb. 8. “Every single person who comes down here, this is where you should eat at first. Get off the plane, drive to Willie Mae’s and get a real taste of New Orleans right away.”
People begin lining up outside Willie Mae’s Scotch House — named one of PEOPLE’s 50 must-eat places in America in 2021 — hours before the restaurant opens for lunch. Their perfectly-seasoned chicken is dipped in a wet batter and deep-fried, creating a crunchy, golden crust that covers the juicy meat within.
“It’s worth waiting in line for,” said Bronson of the restaurant located in New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood. “They have the most unbelievable batter but it’s not what you would expect from a fried chicken crust. It’s just gorgeous. Everyone has to also order the white beans. Everyone goes for the chicken but, you know, I sometimes only get the white beans and leave a very happy man.”
Willie Mae’s was one of the 20 local chefs and eateries participating in the Pepsi NOLA Eats Fest, a free, open-air food festival during Super Bowl weekend that celebrated the city’s diverse culinary, music and cultural scene.
“I just feel like there’s no local food festival without them,” said Bronson, who kicked off his appearance with a push-up contest on stage with emcee Theo Mitchell. “I think you need to bring in the true places that are born and bred from this city and showcase that when you bring this many people to town for an event like the Super Bowl.”
Along with staging the food festival at Woldenberg Riverfront Park, Pepsi also brought back — and updated! — their classic cola match-up for Super Bowl. Fans lined up to take the Pepsi Challenge, where Pepsi Zero and Coke Zero Sugar went head-to-head in a blind taste-test. (The Challenge will now travel to more than 17 cities around the country.) The brand also sponsored the coveted 2024 Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year, which was awarded to Jayden Daniels, rookie quarterback for the Washington Commanders, at the 2025 NFL Honors ceremony on Feb. 6.
After the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Bronson is going back out on the road, filming his food-travel series (“I want to explore South America and India next.”) and working in the studio on new music.
“Music is always part of my life. I just take my time and I get it to the way that I want it. I don’t rush anymore,” said Bronson. “I used to rush early on, but now I’m Phil Collins. I’m a middle aged Phil Collins vibe. I’m 41 but I feel 30 — I’m in the prime of my life.”
Bronson has been open about his health and fitness journey. Bronson lost over 130 lbs. after he set his mind to the health transformation back in 2020, a life change inspired by the birth of his son. He and wife Valeria welcomed their first baby, Benicio, in November 2019, then a daughter, Lennox Daisy, three years later.
“It’s a never ending health journey — mentally, body wise. I’m not exactly where I want to be, but I’m close. I was there but that’s life. Up and down, up and down,” he said. “I always need something to work towards so that’s why I’ve done this. I’m just an experiment. I’m the Lord’s experiment.”
During an interview in November 2023, the rapper told PEOPLE: “I wake up happy every day. Even when I was real fat I was happy but I don’t know if I was, might have been fake. But it’s just my mentality; I’m just a happy-go-lucky guy,” he said, adding, “It all goes together. But I want to be jacked…. I do.”
He continued: “I wanna stay alive and enjoy all these tremendous opportunities that are in front of us and live all this beauty that is around every day. Honestly, that’s it.”
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